>>Do we call this the "Monty Python Nomenclature"? Monty Python's Flying Circus famously was called such because:
>>
>>There never was a man called Monty Python
>>It didn't fly
>>and it wasn't a circus
>
>From what I know, Monty Python was the early champion of friendly fire. During WWII (actually, II WW), he has, as a RAF pilot, downed about 40 British airplanes. So he existed and was flying. As to whether it's a circus or not, the music in the animated sequences did sound so.

Well that's the official reason, from their very own mouths, as witnessed by me. And I was an ardent fan from a young age. Maybe there was such an airman but I've never heard even a hint of such a phenomenon in WW II. I'm not sure we had that many planes to have allowed such an incompitant chump to down 40 of them, worse than a rookie! I think that may be a bit of an urban myth, or someone watched one of Terry Gilliam's cartoons of such while stoned, and swore it was gospel :-)